The weather may be variable, but that doesn’t mean summer isn’t coming – the final May bank holiday offering an excellent reminder that it’s time to start frolicking in the great outdoors.
Which is not to forget, of course, that nature is a dangerous thing. No one should be caught mixing with greenery and beasties without a smartphone at hand. Not only does it allow you to call for reinforcements should a showdown with a squirrel go the wrong way, but there’s also many a useful app to help smooth the way.
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Al fresco munchers will enjoy Fungi (Apple App Store, £1.19, De Bernard) for example. Everyone knows how dangerous a mushroom can be – you don’t want to go snuffling for truffles only to end up grating something rather more magical upon your tagliatelle – so this smart little app has nearly 500 species of fungus stored on an iPhone, all searchable by types of cap, stem etc and with nice, crystal-clear, high-definition photos.
It does, however, come with a warning not to eat anything picked – the developer doesn’t want any uncomfortable lawsuits – so for safer summer eating try Weber’s On the Grill (£2.99, Weber-Stephens). Perfect barbecue fodder, this grilling “companion” has hundreds of recipes and mixes for rubs and marinades. Pick a meat, a recipe, then enter the dimensions of the ingredients and it will even offer exact temperatures and cooking times for a succulent open-air feast.
Which should see off that other staple of the British summer: the half-cooked sausage.
(Theguardian)